newbie advice please..what bike??

mcgann_77

hi all im new to this site and am looking for some advice.i am wanting to get into mountain biking and have been searching around for way too long about what bike to go for.i have a £400 maximum budget and had thought a Carrera Vulcan was the one to go for,but then I read about maybe a specialized hard rock or few other makes.some people seem to think going for a full suspension bike would be better? my intentions are to use the bike for trails and woodlands etc with a view to trying some downhilling at a later date.any advice / opinions would be much appreciated.thanks

FOAM

I am still pretty new to this myself but with that budget I think the Voodoo Hoodoo (£400 sale @ Halfords) or the Calibre Two Two (£370 @ Go Outdoors) are very good specced. You could also go for something from Deacthlon such as the B'TWIN Rockrider 520. (£370)

If you wanted to spend a little less money the Voodoo Bantu is about £320 atm (Halfords)

Specialized bikes (or other large brands) generally spec very badly at low price points.

At this price point ignoring full suspension is the best option.

Myster101

With your budget you do not want to be going for a full suspension MTB.

FOAM has pretty much pointed out the best contenders. If you can try them out before you buy and see which one you find the best.

mcgann_77

right ok thanks for the advice guys.i will take a look around the few shops in my area to see if they are stocked there,we have a Halfords here but not many others nearby and as far as im aware the ones we do have are small shops.at least I can now rule out full suspension bikes now so that's good

The Rookie

Steer clear of the big name brands like Specialized, Trek and so on, at this price point their offerings are frankly awful and are really bad value.

Halfords, Go Outdoors and Decathlon are the only three stores you need to find!

mcgann_77

ok I have looked about more and after looking at your suggestions i have narrowed down to 6 to choose from
what do you guys think would be the best buy from these voodoo hoodoo,
calibre two two,
carrera Vulcan,
carrera kraken,
b twin rockrider 520
or a cannondale trail 6.
there are so many to choose from its ridiculous so just thought id ask you guys in the know
thanks

batmo

And now, with links!

mcgann_77 wrote:

ok I have looked about more and after looking at your suggestions i have narrowed down to 6 to choose from
what do you guys think would be the best buy from these voodoo hoodoo,
calibre two two,
carrera Vulcan,
carrera kraken,
b twin rockrider 520
or a cannondale trail 6.
there are so many to choose from its ridiculous so just thought id ask you guys in the know
thanks

The Rookie

The fork on the cannondale is a shocker, absolutely dreadful, AVOID.

Angus Young

The Rookie wrote:

Halfords, Go Outdoors and Decathlon are the only three stores you need to find!

I was in a Decathlon yesterday and I was quite impressed with their bike. On casual inspection they seemed to be very good quality for the money.

mcgann_77

thanks batmo for adding links.thanks rookie il forget the cannondale then.i don't have a decathlon anywhere near me so thanks for the heads up on that angus